New music from the always wonderful Johan G. Winther, out now on Slaapwel Records. Says the label:

"I've been friends with Johan Gustavsson for a long while now – first through his music as Tsukimono (glitchy noisy drone dreamy electronics stuff that somehow stayed undiscovered by too many people) on labels such as Mechanized Mind and Komplott. Later on I organized some gigs for his instrumental rock band called Scraps of Tape. Some time ago Johan found a battered cd-r with old recordings he made for his grandmother, playing them to a couple of friends (who some of you might know: Nils Frahm & Peter Broderick) – who encouraged him to do something with those beautiful recordings. After some months of thinking and tinkering he finally sent me "For Ingar Gustavsson". A lengthy album, humble, restrained and precise and with a lot of respect. Imagine Arvo Pärt as a bedroom musician, laptop processing his Für Alina pieces with the same understanding and confidence that he originally composed them. Stretching them out into wise, vast wintry landscapes. Embracing life/eternity like only the elderly can. You never fell asleep so calmly."

VERY highly recommended.]]> Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:33:10 -0700 news multimedia general http://www.itsatrap.com/n/40656-new-from-zeon-light-horrible-houses-paddington-dc http://www.itsatrap.com/n/40656-new-from-zeon-light-horrible-houses-paddington-dc http://www.itsatrap.com/n/40656-new-from-zeon-light-horrible-houses-paddington-dc#comments Horrible Houses / Dead Surfer's Valentine [c25] by zeon light kassett

Out now on Zeon Light Kassett: a C25 from lofi indie act Horrible Houses plus a brand new 7-track release from the always-reliable Paddington Distortion Combo. Hit up Bandcamp for ordering info and paid downloads and keep an eye out for new stuff on the label from the likes of Diskoteket, Erik de Vahl, Tsukimono and more.

Liam Murray is a poet from Malmö working on his debut album which will feature him reading his words over background music provided by an array of Swedish artists. First up, a cut with friend-of-the-site Johan Gustavsson aka Jonas G Winther of Scraps of Tape/Tsukimono/Thee Gutted String. Other contributors include Lotta Wenglén and Polar City, plus a few who apparently have yet to be asked. Wait and see!

Preview a snippet of the upcoming Verfver tape, coming out this December via Native Parts Records. Pssst... Verfver = Johan G Winther of Tsukimono/Scraps of Tape.

My dear friend Johan Gustavsson aka Johan G. Winther aka Tsukimono, performing live with Peter Broderick at Flèche d'Or in Paris, playing songs from their new split 7" on Tenderversion Recordings.

10/12 - Steinbruch, Duisburg (GER)
10/13 - Sint Elisabeth Church, Gent (BEL)
10/16 - St Giles, London (UK)
10/18 - St Mary Church, Brighton (UK)
10/19 - Academy, Manchester (UK)
10/20 - Pavillion, Cork (EIR)
10/21 - Harmonic Series @ Workman's Club, Dublin (EIR)
10/22 - Cube, Bristol (UK)
10/23 - South Street Arts Centre, Reading (UK)
10/27 - Bad Bonn, Düdingen (CH)
10/28 - Treibhaus, Luzern (CH)

I had this idea; my idea was this collection.
This collection presents the music of Johan Gustavsson made under the Tsukimono moniker. It's meant to work as a "beginner's guide" as well as a testament to Tsukimono's first 10 years as an artist. I hope you enjoy this free-music as much as I have through the years, and I hope it can inspire you, as a listener, to delve deeper into the vast Tsukimono catalogue. There's a plethora of greatness to choose from and making selections for this compilation wasn't an easy task.

Wise men say only fools rush in. Some other wise man (still could've been Elvis though) has also said something to the effect of: Writing about music is like dancing about architecture; it's a very stupid thing to do. And regarding this album, letting the music speak for itself is surely the wisest thing to do.

Finally, just these words about Johan:
I've been close to a lot of people in my life, I've admired and loved quite a few, but Johan Gustavsson is the only man I've ever truly respected.

// David C Sjöberg - Cultural Theoretician and Conceptual Artist, 2010.

It's a Trap! is proud to present our latest netrelease: Tsukimono - "Field hollers 2000 - 2010" [IAT.MP3.015]
Curated, compiled and notated by David C Sjöberg, as quoted above, and featuring cover art by the artist himself, Mr. Johan Gustavsson.

I've known Johan for a number of years now and am ecstatic to continue my association with him, both as a friend and as a label. As with many artists in the experimental music scene, Tsukimono's discography is vast, varied and quite intimidating to the unindoctrinated outsider -- this collection serves as a much-welcome introduction to the man and his music. Organized thematically and not by release date, as you will read in David's superb and extensive liner notes, "Field hollers" aims to reduce the difficulty in approaching sometimes difficult music and succeeds beautifully. As much as I'd like to take credit for it, all must go to David and Johan for putting this collection together; I merely serve as the host. Much love to both of them and may we all enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Also! Johan will be releasing a new split 7" with Peter Broderick in October via A Tenderversion Recording, his first under the name Johan G Winther and also the first of the label's new "Re:Create Series" in which they will be recycling second-hand materials to construct the packaging of every release. As for the musical concept, both Peter and Johan decided to write a song about each other and then each covered each other's song, adding up to a grand total of four tracks. No exact release date yet, but it should be out in time for their upcoming tour together which kicks off in early October! Dates:

10/10 - Roepaen, Ottersum (NL)
10/12 - Steinbruch, Duisburg (GER)
10/13 - Sint Elisabeth Church, Gent (BEL)
10/14 - Muziekpodium, Bakkeveen (NL)
10/15 - Ko d'oooor, Middelburg (NL)
10/16 - St Giles, London (UK)
10/18 - St Mary Church, Brighton (UK)
10/19 - Academy, Manchester (UK)
10/20 - Pavillion, Cork (EIR)
10/21 - Harmonic Series @ Workman's Club, Dublin (EIR)
10/22 - Cube, Bristol (UK)
10/23 - South Street Arts Centre, Reading (UK)
10/24 - Supersonic Festival, Brimingham (UK)
10/25 - tba, Arras (FRA)
10/26 - tba, Paris (FRA)
10/28 - Treibhaus, Luzern (CH)
10/30 - Schauburg, Dresden (GER)
10/31 - Haus 73 (Saal), Hamburg (GER)

Råd Kjetil & The Loving Eye of God - s/t CS
Bird by Snow - Songbread/Another ocean CS
Tsukimono - Gotta sing b/w gotta dance 7"

Hit up their website for full details: http://www.kalligrammofon.com/

01. TALK 1
02. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Lost & losing
03. Raison d'Étre - Withstand the fire
04. The Bear Quartet - Carry your weight
05. TALK 2
06. Rasmus Kellerman - Five years from now
07. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Theme
08. Håkon Kornstad - Oslo
09. TALK 3
10. Patrik Andersson & Vegar Vårdal - Gråtaren
11. Folkvang - Myrmark
12. Hello Saferide - Arjeplog
13. David Åhlén - Great is thy faithfulness
14. TALK 4
15. Tsukimono - Gloomy Sunday
16. Hearts No Static - Happy holidays
17. Ted Gärdestad - Come give me love
18. TALK 5

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

01. Getting pregnant with my partner Sara.
The kid is due in 2010 but still it has been THE biggest thing this year.

02. Touring with Scraps of Tape.
Touring Europe, Japan and Sweden. As usual, being on the road with the guys is amazing. Thanks to everyone who came to the shows and who were in any way involved.

03. Releasing "Grand letdown".
The latest album from Scraps was such a fucking struggle to get together, but we made it and we're pleased. Onwards to new things.

04. Releasing "Heart attack money".
This album meant a great deal to me. Made me get through hard times and a not-so-healthy living during the time it was assembled. I've never done anything this thought-through in my whole life. Every sound, every second of music, every word and every picture on and in this album is there for a reason and has a purpose. Thank you Gustav.

05. My family.
This includes band-members and loved ones. Probably it's the "becoming a father" business in work here but family, once again, has proven to reign supreme in my life.

Also working with all the different bands I'm in and with all the fantastic people I know, creating from the heart. Thank you all for sharing it with me.

---------------------------
Johan says: "2010 holds at least 2 albums to be recorded which will be probably the best I've played on. EXCITED!!"
http://www.scrapsoftape.com/
http://yourson-shine.blogspot.com/

01. NEI - City of gold
02. TALK 1
03. Brothers of End - Why
04. Johndoe - Kvikkleire
05. Viola - Sea curtain
06. TALK 2
07. Marit Bergman - Höstvisa
08. Bad Hands - Bad hands (feat. Nina Kinert)
09. Aerial - I am TV
10. Tape - Brakes
11. TALK 3
12. Tsukimono - Mimilalanono
13. Superfamily - The songs of the weak will die
14. Unter den Linden - Motstånd i läder
15. TALK 4
16. The Bear Quartet - Carry your weight
17. Björn Kleinhenz - Show me love
18. Pets - Don't say your heart is broken (we know it's not)
19. TALK 5

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

When I set out on this Gbg Spotlight feature at the beginning of 2008 Viktor was at the top of my list - it was never matter of "if", only "when". And that time is now.

You moved to Gbg for school, right? How long has it been now? Think you'll stick around once you finish your dissertation?

Well, not exactly, I grew up in Pixbo just outside Gothenburg so I have pretty much always been here. I lived down south for little over a year though, which is where I met many of the people that are my closest friends today. Some of them has since then moved to Gothenburg, such as Johan (Gustavsson, aka Tsukimono). I have been living in central Gothenburg since around 2004 and I don't think that I would want to live anywhere else in Sweden, at least not in any other city. I am finishing up school right now (for real this time!) and who knows what the future holds? But I can safely say that if I were to leave Gothenburg I would go to California rather than anywhere else in Sweden or Europe.

What do think is the most charming aspect of Gbg? On the other hand, is there anything about the city you wish you could change?

My mother, my dog and a lot of my dear friends live here. That's fairly charming. I think it has a lot of possibilities and it can certainly be a beautiful place when it wants to be. I could get into a discussion on how right now I think that we probably have more things going on musically than Malmö or Stockholm, but that feels kind of irrelevant. It rains a lot and it's very windy and more than often overcast. These conditions make for creative indoor activities and good friendships.

As far as music goes, you seem to be involved with both the pop and experimental scenes. Is there a lot of crossover between the two? What characteristics do they both share, if any?

I don't what to say, really. I guess there are a few artists that walk this line separating "pop" and "experimental". Personally, I think that this a hard thing to do and I think very few people succeed. Thinking more about it, I find that I generally think it works best when so called "experimental" artists incorporate popular music into their work, rather than the other way around. (If this is done in a non-ironic manner that is.) Pop music with an presumably experimental edge is generally just a bad make-up job and one of the worst things in the world. One big exception that actually lives in Gothenburg is Erik de Vahl, who to me is an excellent pop artist that not only writes beautiful songs, but also is sonically restless. It seems to me that he explores new areas because he needs to, not because he wants to make up for something that isn't there. I have been listening to his unreleased new album for almost a year now and I think it's the best thing he's ever done. I hope he decides to put it out some day.

You always seem to have a ton of amazing projects going on all the time - what are you currently working on now? What about stuff your friends are doing; got any tips on artists I should be paying more attention to?

I am finishing up my follow up album to "On a winter's day", entitled "Breakfast in America". I have been working on it for pretty much two years and it's definitely my most fully realised project so far. It is very much a pop album and it is inspired by the feeling of greatness that pop music can provide you with at certain points in your life. It's about seeing America out of a train window with your oldest childhood friend, catching all those youthful dreams and finding new ones. It's about finding love in people, in the landscape and in the golden sunshine. Basically, loving life.

I am working with my New Jazz Ensemble in different ways, we just did a show as a quartet last week and we are doing another one as a septet this week. After that there'll be a small tour with Malmö popjazztrio Auton. We are playing Copenhagen, Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm. I am also putting out their debut album on my label, Structures Sonores this week, so there is a lot of work going on with that.

Gothenburg artists that you should check out? Well, I hope you listened to the song "Feeling small" by Johan Gustavsson's Gutted String project. He has another one that is called "Ferry from here" that is also fantastic and I know that he is working on some spectacular things. There's more things going on I guess, but that's the last thing that seriously blew me away. Oh yeah, and I like Madamm. She has the best guitar sound in town.

So do you have a song to share either from yourself or another artist you admire? Tell us about it.

Johan sent me this music while I was in California over the summer. I was sitting at the Escondido Public Library working on a paper when I suddenly got a hold of the library wifi and checked my email. I found this song in my inbox and I began listening to it over and over again. The idea of Johan singing his heart out on the other side of the globe was very appealing, but even more so it was a completely brilliant song. That the key line is dealing with drowning in noise is very fitting in so many ways. I hope to hear more things from Thee/The Gutted String asap.

01. Peter Morén - This is what I came for
02. TALK 1
03. Entombed - Hollowman
04. King Of All The Animals - Concrete skyline
05. Jettie - The lay up
06. TALK 2
07. Happy Trash Culture - Frisky pet
08. Josse - You had a plan
09. Ondo - Sleep
10. TALK 3
11. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - This room seems empty without you
12. Håkan Hellström - För sent för edelweiss
13. Marvins Revolt - Deliberate deeds
14. Marybell Katastrophy - Hey Frank
15. TALK 4
16. The Bear Quartet - Mvh contempt
17. Lögnhalsmottagningen - Snacka gär ju
18. Ghost Brigade - Based on you
19. TALK 5
20. September Malevolence - I shut doors and windows
21. The End Will Be Kicks - Ass of a friend
22. Anna Leong - Battered, bruised and cold
23. TALK 6
24. Bright Oak - On the list
25. Tape - Moth wings
26. Axewitch - Hot lady
27. TALK 7
28. Nationalteatern - Jack the Ripper
29. Tsukimono - Heart beater
30. Zeigeist - Bunny
31. TALK 8
32. First Floor Power - The jacket (Karin Dreijer remix)
33. No Hope for the Kids - Angels of destruction
34. Docenterna - Popmusik
35. Vapnet - Skorpan
36. TALK 9
37. Björn Kleinhenz - Olis
38. Fireside - Ambulance
39. Looptroop Rockers - Living on a prayer
40. TALK 10

01. Viktor Sjöberg & Jonas Lindgren - "Guldheden"
02. Anders Dahl - "Strätta, Flockblomstriga 4"
03. Porn Sword Tobacco - "Feminin Arkitektur"
04. Sewer Election - "Mot Döden"
05. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - "Facelessness Erases Every Trace Of Humanity"
06. Jasper TX - "And I Closed My Eyes"
07. The Skull Defekts - "Invocation Of Brother Rune Lindblad"
08. Tsukimono - "Moan Jar"
09. Joel Brindefalk - "Monitoring My Own Death"
10. Porn Sword Tobacco - "Ett Jaläger Och Ett Nejläger"

I don't have a confirmed release date yet, but it has been sent off to be pressed, so copies should hopefully be available soon. I for one am very excited -- it's a stellar lineup.

How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?

I moved here in summer 2003 so I have been living in GBG for close to 5 years now. I used to live in a small village in middle of the dark forests of the region Småland, later moved on to the nearest city and then spent one year in Jönköping. I guess I was longing for something more, something else, and eventually decided to go for GBG. In many ways there are only 3 options for young people in Sweden that want to escape the small town boredom: GBG, Stockholm and Malmö. Stockholm was never really an option for me for various reasons and Malmö always seemed a bit too small and boring. Since I already had friends and so on in GBG there wasn't really anywhere else to go at that point. 5 years later I have no intentions on leaving anytime soon, I love this city and for the moment I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I know you work with a lot of int'l acts, but you also seem to always have something going on w/the local scene. Do you see yourself as a regional label at all? How important do you think regional labels are in this day and age?

I actually really didn't release anything GBG-based until last year with the The Skull Defekts album ["Skkull"]. Ok, Tar... Feathers was kind of based in GBG for a while, but has to me always been more of a Stockholm-thing. I never really had the need to cover the music in this town before since other local labels like iDEAL and Kning Disk already did a very good job with that. But recently there has been sooo many amazing things happening here that it has been kind of impossible to not participate in one way or another! So yeah, RTB will definitely be exploring the current activities here a little bit more in the future than in the past with upcoming releases from Tsukimono, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, The Skull Defekts etc. Is it important with regional labels? Honestly I don't think labels are that important at all nowdays. Still I can see a purpose with regional labels, acting like some kind of centre of the scene with lots of things going on besides just releasing local acts (iDEAL being a way better example than RTB on that with club nights, festivals and so on).

Do you think there's a particular Gbg sound or attitude? Also, how do Gbg artists differ from those in other cities within Sweden?

GBG is known for having a very distinct sound when it comes to both Death Metal and Pop music for an example, but when it comes to the kind of music that RTB is releasing (whatever you want to call it, it's not like I even have a "typical" sound for the label...) I would say no. In that sense that I don't think anyone would be able to "hear" that a certain artist is from GBG when listening to it, just based on the actual sound. Attitude... I don't think this city differs from other Swedish towns really, but I know that outsiders tends to think that people in GBG are very open minded and easy to be around for some reason? If you should compare GBG to other Swedish towns when it comes to music and related activities, I think it's safe to say that no other town is even close to what's currently happening here! So many shows, new projects, new awesome releases and so on all the time! I also think musicians in GBG are usually a bit ahead of other places in Sweden, it seems like new impressions and ways to do things hits GBG first most of the time.

How's the health of the Gbg scene right now? Any particular artists that you're exciting about? What releases do you have planned? Also, anyone else you want to work with/wish you had signed?

Truly amazing things are happening here right now, I haven't been this excited about the local scene since I moved here, that's for sure. I don't know where to start... One of the best and most promising new acts is definitely the 3-piece Leafes. I put out a tape with them in December 2006 when they still lived in Jönköping and only had been a band for a few weeks. Then they put out a CD-R last year which is really, really good, moved to GBG and now they have just finished their debut album "Seedland" which will be put out on tape only! Kind of folky pretty song-based free jams for most of the time, usually arranged around acoustic instruments with a sparse use of electronics... In the vein of Sunburned Hand Of The Man and the likes, but with more melancholy. I really recommend everyone to check them out, and you will be hearing way more about them in the future for sure! Everything Dan of Sewer Election is doing is golden. Put out a Sewer Election/Altar Of Flies LP on RTB a few months ago. Another amazing project from Dan is White. Filthy lo-fi basement dwellings, disturbing shit. Modorra is great underground metal with my neighbour Jon on drums, haven't heard that much yet but it sure seems promising! Prostitute Finger is another new project, members from a few "famous" GBG acts. Rough feedback-mayhem, beautiful stuff. Relic was probably the most promising new band this town had seen in years but unfortunately it seems like they've just broke up? A damn shame if you ask me, the rehearsal tapes was some scary out there stuff and I could only imagine what this beast would have become in the future. Then there is the more well-known acts that is always doing brilliant stuff no matter what: Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Tsukimono, Viktor Sjöberg, Gloomy Sunday, The Skull Defekts and so on. Plus the whole DJ/club-scene with Studio, Tiedye etc. Current favorite local labels: Harsh Head Rituals and Pillowscars. Upcoming GBG-related releases on RTB this year: Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Lost in reflections LP + 7" (split release with iDEAL, Fang Bomb and When Skies Are Grey, a minor masterpiece!), The Skull Defekts - The drone drug CD (natural follow up to last years "Skkull", minamalistic and nasty drone-filth with an industrial edge, grim sounding stuff!) and the vinyl version of Tsukimono's stunning "Time Canvas" (originally released as a limited CD-R on Kning Disk last year). All these 3 releases will hopefully be ready early summer. Kind of happy with the current RTB release schedule I must say, but it would definitely be fun to do something more with Leafes in the future. While I'm at it, the label Fang Bomb is putting out a Gothenburg 2008 compilation soon with the The Skull Defekts, Anders Dahl, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Sewer Election, Viktor Sjöberg, Jasper TX etc...

Got a song to share to rep Gbg? Tell us about it.

It has to be "This room seems empty without you", the opening track from "Lost in reflections", the upcoming Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words album! A bit different from the rest of the album, and also a bit different from the previous DLSODW sound. Still one of the most underrated GBG-acts in my opinion, why last year's amazing "Fall, fall, falling" (Kalligrammofon) didn't get more attention is a mystery to me.

It's a mystery to me too, especially since I count it as one of my favorite albums of 2007. And now, listening to this, it looks like there's a strong chance of a repeat. Amazing stuff, to be sure...

01. Tiger Lou - The loyal
02. TALK 1
03. Karin Ström - Silent night
04. Saft - I do not smoke
05. Caesars - Strawberry weed
06. TALK 2
07. Meshuggah - Bleed
08. Pacific! - Number one
09. Pascal - Längtar efter dig
10. TALK 3
11. Logh - An alliance of hearts
12. Benea Reach - New waters
13. Astrid Swan - Sea/e life
14. TALK 4
15. Lykke Li - I'm good, I'm gone
16. The High Hats - Bitterswede
17. Lis Er Stille - Lorelei
18. TALK 5
19. The Tough Alliance - Leg 7
20. Cosmic Overdose - En av dom
21. The Second Band - The piano machine
22. TALK 6
23. De Stijl - Date times
24. Death Breath - Death breath
25. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy
26. Randy - Freedom song
27. TALK 7
28. Jonas Knutsson & Horn Please! - Snygg Olles polska
29. Moonbabies - Forever changes everything now
30. Kristofer Åström - Conjure me
31. TALK 8
32. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Wedding
33. Anna Leong - Guillotine
34. Convoj - RAMJAC
35. TALK 9
36. Tsukimono - Gloomy Sunday

How long have you lived in GBG?

I've basically been living here for a year now. The first 6-7 months I kept working in Skåne, the south of Sweden, where I'm from. That meant a lot of driving and more or less living in my car, traveling between 3 different cities all the time. But now I'm here and have been here full time since August 07.

Where did you move from and why?

I moved up here from Malmö for love. I met the greatest person and we decided to try and make it work out together. I was also losing my apartment in Malmö and I needed to get out of the situation I was stuck in at the time. Things have worked out for the better.

Favorite part about the city? Least favorite?

I really like Gbg in general, I like walking in the city even though I do it a lot less than I'd like. I live in Majorna and there is just a lot of nice things to look at and to take to heart.
Least favourite? The weather... for sure. Windy and rainy... but it's ok.

Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound? If so, how would you describe it?

Nah, I think what's so good about the music from Gbg is that it's all really diverse. You can find anything here, and most of the time it's pretty damn good too. And with people like Christian Pallin/Koloni around who organizes shows and happenings all year-round, you get pretty spoiled with opportunities to see interesting and odd bands/artists from all over the world.

How would you say the city inspired you?

I've been getting more back into punk and hardcore/metal again... which is great! There's a good scene here.
Started a few new bands, played with great people, met wonderful people with a real desire to do good and who have their hearts 100% in what they do. It's pretty hard to not get inspired by stuff like that. I've also been getting better at saying no and to not go everywhere and not do everything. To have the ability to not do things is very liberating.

Is there a particular piece that you've done that you feel was directly influenced by and/or provides a good reflection of the city?

Well, there's also a compilation coming out entitled "Gothenburg 08", which will be released by Fang Bomb... it'll feature me, Viktor Sjöberg, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and many others... the track on there is about Gbg but since it's not released yet I'm not sure that's a good idea.
However, my new album coming out on Kalligrammofon, the "Heart attack money" cd, kinda touches on Gbg a lot too, so let's go for "Gloomy Sunday". It's being mastered this week Henrik Oja (The Spacious Mind, Säkert!) and Jonas Rosén (Female Anchor Of Sade, Asterisk*) so I'm super-psyched to hear the results soon.

Look for the album to receive a proper release soon, but in the meantime, here's the unmastered version of "Gloomy Sunday" to whet your thirst. Highly recommended!

01/04 - Nbv, Göteborg (SWE) w/Another Year
01/05 - 1000fryd, Aalborg (DK) w/Fy Fan

Touring Japan with Scraps Of Tape for two weeks in June. Probably the best trip I ever been on. Performing in front of 800 Japanese people at the O-East was mind-numbing. Meeting the guys from You.May.Die.In.The.Desert and touring with them. It was special... brothers separated since birth.

Moving together with my girlfriend in Gothenburg, actually realising what a sensible/working relationship is supposed to be like.

The European tour with Scraps Of Tape during spring. Standing at the Croatian border and having to bribe our way into the country with 6 t-shirts and a hoodie... they didn't want our music. Then 2 days later being busted by undercover cops outside of Münich, and Marcus saying "I'm a girl, I'm a girl" over and over to one of the policemen.

Playing live at the Release The Bats Headquarters, a rare occasion and a beautiful yet short evening.

Fritiof Nilsson Piraten and his amazing storytelling.

Jerker Kaj. Forever in your debt, thank you for saving our lives during the spring tour.

Harry Krook. A star is born.

Viktor Sjöberg. A gentleman at all occasions and a friend beyond mere friendship.

Actually, the evening both you and Björn mentioned. Randy and folköl after WoW. Made a good/weird evening into a perfect evening.

Once again beating angst and demons and not burning everything written down or painted or deleting everything recorded this year.

---------------------------
Johan Gustavsson is involved in many, many musical projects such as Tsukimono (see the recent IAT.MP3 netrelease), Scraps of Tape, Conduo Orchestra, Alina, The Colour Black and probably a whole bunch more.
yourson-shine.blogspot.com
www.scrapsoftape.com
www.myspace.com/scrapsoftape
www.myspace.com/tsukimonoswe

]]> Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20443 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20443 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20443#comments Prolific IAT.MP3 artist Tsukimono has a new release on Structures Sonores imprint Personal Work entitled "Red, red wine". Go here for more info plus video footage from his performance in GBG this past weekend: http://elefanten.blogspot.com/2007/12/today-was-good-day.html]]> Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:41:32 -0800 news general multimedia http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20333 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20333 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20333#comments IAT.MP3 artist Tsukimono has posted the track "Hat out of bell" from his out-of-print CDR "Please" up on myspace for free download: http://www.myspace.com/tsukimonoswe]]> Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:51:26 -0800 news multimedia http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19796 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19796 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19796#comments Prolific IAT.MP3 artist Tsukimono has a new cassette out now on excellent GBG-based label Release the Bats! Go here for details: http://www.releasethebats.com/rtb.html]]> Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:33:03 -0700 news general http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27624-mp3-tsukimono-osaka-drop http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27624-mp3-tsukimono-osaka-drop http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27624-mp3-tsukimono-osaka-drop#comments There's a brand new netrelease today from Tsukimono, so I'm posting the lead track "Osaka drop" as today's mp3 download. For those unaware, Tsukimono is the musical alias of Johan Gustavsson, a prolific Göteborg-based artist who you might also know from his work with Scraps of Tape, Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble, The Colour Black or one his many, many other collaborative projects. This four-track EP is a perfect netrelease candidate as it is a highly conceptual work - every sound you hear originated as a field recording that was captured during SoT's recent Japanese tour in June. Johan then took the sounds and manipulated them, thus creating the work you hear today. All of this done while still on tour. The result resembles drone/ambient music, but never quite settles into anything resembling wallpaper due to natural sound source and glitchy editing. I am proud to offer this as my latest IAT.MP3 release and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. And to Johan who is sick in bed today: feel better! Much love!]]> Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/129 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/129 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/129#comments The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Timo Räisänen - My valentine
02. TALK 1
03. Torpedo - From Russia with love
04. Desert Planet - Breakout button
05. Ebba Grön - Mamma pappa barn
06. TALK 2
07. The End Will Be Kicks - Don Johnson
08. Skywriter - Where both worlds never meet
09. Skull Defekts - The secret
10. TALK 3
11. Tsukimono - Tokyo OEast
12. Kristin Asbjørnsen - Trying to get home
13. Enemy Alliance - Government subsidized ghetto
14. TALK 4
15. The Indecision Alarm - Where every fucking dream is killed
16. Dismember - Soon to be dead
17. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Moments
18. TALK 5
19. Kristofer Åström - All in
20. Pan Sonic - Virta 1
21. Ulver - Of wolf and fear
22. TALK 6
23. Mainliners - Olivia
24. 120 Days - Let me come down
25. Universal Poplab - 60 is the new 40
26. TALK 7
27. Dag Vag - Popitop
28. The Bombettes - Lust is the new black
29. Breach - Big strong boss
30. TALK 8
31. CS Nielsen - Black spots
32. Tape - Sand dunes
33. The Psyke Project - For us to see for us to help
34. TALK 9
35. Cortex - Shark boys die hard
36. Viola - I don't know how to party
37. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
38. TALK 10
39. Broder Daniel - What clowns are we]]> Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/284 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/284 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/284#comments More (better) video footage from Viktor Sjöberg's performance at Koloni on Monday: http://elefanten.blogspot.com/2007/08/live-video.html
I couldn't tell for sure with the other clip posted yesterday, but that's Jonas Odhner who, along with Viktor, is a member of IAT.MP3 act Sonores. On drums is Johan Gustavsson from Tsukimono/Scraps of Tape.]]> Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/520 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/520 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/520#comments The playlist for this week's all-GBG radio show:

01. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
02. TALK 1
03. Hemstad - Sommar i Göteborg
04. Division of Laura Lee - We are numbers
05. Håkan Hellström - Kom igen Lena!
06. TALK 2
07. In Flames - Everything counts
08. Pistol Disco - Walking with Jesus
09. Viktor Sjöberg - W/nothing
10. TALK 3
11. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
12. The Knife - Listen now
13. Broder Daniel - Dark heart
14. TALK 4
15. Samuraj Cities - All along the shoreline
16. MPTP - Jim Morrison
17. At the Gates - Cold
18. TALK 5
19. The Book of Daniel - The camels parade
20. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
21. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Nevermore
22. TALK 6
23. Nicolai Dunger - What tomorrow
24. The Kid - Portion control (Fatsuit haze/Zlatan wins the World Cup remix)
25. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
26. C.Aarmé - Visions
27. TALK 7
28. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - I could have sworn I heard them SING
29. Junip - Official
30. Diabolique - Catholic
31. TALK 8
32. Convoj - My timekeeping heart
33. Tsukimono - Dear sister
34. Eric Beyond - Step off
35. TALK 9
36. Björn Kleinhenz - Out of style
37. Detektivbyrån - E18
38. TALK 10
39. Bad Cash Quartet - Too bored to die]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/693 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/693 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/693#comments Check out The Colour Black, an all-analog improv duo featuring Johan Gustavsson (Scraps of Tape, Tsukimono) and Henrik G Grevesmühl (Repoman, 8 Days of Nothing): http://www.myspace.com/thecolourblackblackblack]]> Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25858-tsukimono-time-canvas-kning-disk http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25858-tsukimono-time-canvas-kning-disk http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25858-tsukimono-time-canvas-kning-disk#comments "Time canvas" is an admitted step away from Johan Gustavsson's previous work under the moniker Tsukimono. Moving from the far more complex arrangements on album "Née", Gustavsson has stripped down his compositions to focus on fewer and more organic elements and the limits of their range and capabilities. The results are long, thoughtful, and beautiful works, the shortest being over eight minutes in length. As with the far darker Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, the beauty here is in the delicate layering and subtle progression of the songs, which can admittedly take quite a while and might frustrate some listeners. "Time canvas" is structured upon the arrangement of sparse samples of instruments, a soundtrack that neither cast shadows nor illuminates, and one that rewards its listeners' patience.]]> Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/924 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/924 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/924#comments Hey look! New in the webstore: Tsukimono's new album "Time canvas" plus the new Mixtapes & Cellmates EP collection "A retrospective". Awesome!]]> Fri, 22 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1655 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1655 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1655#comments Last night's Sirius Blog Radio playlist:

01. Superfamily - The radio has expressed concerns about what you did last night
02. TALK 1
03. Asha Ali - These months
04. Boys of Scandinavia - Why do you love me? (radio edit)
05. Promoe - Headache
06. TALK 2
07. Closer - Sensing the wake
08. The Bear Quartet - Mom and dad
09. TALK 3
10. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
11. Familjen - Kom säger dom
12. Pavan - The bird
13. TALK 4
14. Kazakstan - Song to the past
15. Universal Poplab - Vampire in you
16. TALK 5
17. Scraps of Tape - Death as it should be
18. ARM - Drving by accident
19. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
20. TALK 6
21. Tsukimono - Gathering heavy breathing
22. Pimentola - Wish upon a fallen star
23. Plain Fade - Uliaan leski
24. TALK 7
25. The Skull Defekts - Six six for eyes
26. Logh - Into the night
27. TALK 8
28. Aerial - You will all die, all things will
29. Tobias Hellkvist - Moment at ven
30. Audrey - Views
31. TALK 9
32. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Ashen like the sky]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27772-mp3-the-bear-quartet-portrait-painter http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27772-mp3-the-bear-quartet-portrait-painter http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27772-mp3-the-bear-quartet-portrait-painter#comments This week's Bear Quartet post comes courtesy of Johan Gustavsson. Johan plays in a shit-ton of various bands including Scraps of Tape, Tsukimono, Alina and Conduo Orchestra to name a few. SoT just released the excellent album "This is a copy is this a copy" and is on tour as we speak. Alina and Tsukimono have new records on the way, as do a few of the other projects he's involved in. Needless to say, he's a busy guy, but somehow to found time to reminisce on the mighty BQ:

"Gay icon" was the first BQ album I ever listened to as a whole and by my own will.
Up until then, my brother David used to play BQ to me once in a while, proclaiming that they were/are the best Swedish band ever and so on... I have infinite trust in David's musical knowledge and taste, so after a while I bought "Gay icon" and when "Portrait painter" came on I was blown to pieces. The lyrics just make me shudder and wipe a tear every time... thank you.

"Gay icon" was my first Bear Quartet album, too. Download "Portrait painter" below.]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s bq http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2306 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2306 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2306#comments The new Tsukimono album "Time canvas" has been confirmed for a March 15 release via Kning Disc. Artwork, tracklist and more details: http://www.kningdisk.com/02_releases_kd030.asp?id=335]]> Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2340 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2340 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2340#comments Hockey Rawk will be releasing a noise comp cassette in late March/early April featuring cuts from the likes of Olle Oljud, Fröya, D. Karlsson, T. Karlsson, Tsukimono, Ourrefusalisourweaponlet'sfight, Idiomdrottning, Henrik Kihlberg and others. Also on the way from the label/art group is a CDR of an elderly man named Gert telling stories in Swedish, playing a bit of accordion and synthesizer and singing. More details to come.]]> Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26006-tsukimono-nee-kalligrammofon http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26006-tsukimono-nee-kalligrammofon http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26006-tsukimono-nee-kalligrammofon#comments Johan Gustavsson is young, at only 23, but his music, under the name of Tsukimono, seems much more mature. The feel of the album is always out of step - awkward and dysfunctional, but strangely beautiful at the same time. Fragments of each track are picked up throughout the album, which links the tracks with a classic ambient narrative. For instance, a backdrop of torrential rain is returned to, as is the same shadowy, heartfelt piano. Melodies are often repeated with subtle changes to the general sound and feel of the instruments. This leads to a lack of memorable, standout tracks, rather a combination of tracks that should be listened to as a whole. It took a lot of time for me to really appreciate "Née" as it is so jumbled, but it gradually becomes easier to follow and easier to enjoy. The acoustic element to Gustavsson's music earns him a reference to Four Tet - who some would say is a more experienced artist, but both produce work that is descriptive and visual. With a 'sister-album' entitled "Heart attack money", I'm looking forward to hearing more from Tsukimono.]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25659-top-10s-for-2006-thomas-ekelund-dead-letters-spell-out-dead-words http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25659-top-10s-for-2006-thomas-ekelund-dead-letters-spell-out-dead-words http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25659-top-10s-for-2006-thomas-ekelund-dead-letters-spell-out-dead-words#comments In no particular order:

Edwige - The Inconsolable Widow Thanks All Those Who Consoled Her (Album)

Tsukimono - Née (Album)

Jonas Lindgren - Lights Will Bring You, Home (EP)

Wolf Eyes - Human Animal (Album)

Ronnie Sundin - The Amature Hermetic (Album)

Violet - Blind From Staring At The Sun (Album)

Om - Conference of the Birds (Album)

Viktor Sjöberg - On A Winter's Day (Album)

The New Alchemy - Organic Universe (Album)


---------------------------

Thomas Ekelund is a musician, artist & graphic designer working in Gothenburg, Sweden. His second CD as Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words entitled "Old ghosts, new ghosts, all ghosts" is out now on Ideal Recordings. Planned releases for 2007 include "Fall, fall, falling" CD on Kalligrammofon, "Lost in reflections" CD on Ideal, "Drowning in a see of hiss" CDr on Mystery Sea and the much anticipated debut album of Dead Violets, a drone core project with Jeff Surak of Violet/Zeromoon.
www.deadwords.org
www.nullvoid.net
www.whenskiesaregrey.se

]]> Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25655-top-10s-for-2006-its-a-trap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25655-top-10s-for-2006-its-a-trap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25655-top-10s-for-2006-its-a-trap#comments Official top 10 releases for 2006, in alphabetical order:

There was a glut of good music in 2006, but only a few truly great albums. I found myself enjoying a very high percentage of the music that came my way, but very little remained in regular rotation for any length of time. Too much of a good thing? Perhaps. Regardless, I had some trouble compiling my list since I wanted to ensure that my selections were fit for posterity. That means albums like The Knife's "Silent shout" and Motorpsycho's "Black hole/black canvas" were out, despite being admirable pieces of work. They deserve high praise, but I simply didn't listen to them that much. Similarly, I'm From Barcelona and Peter Bjorn and John were off the list because their 2006 releases pale in comparison to what came before (both the original "Sing!!" demo EP from IFB and PB&J's "Falling out" are 100% unfuckwithable). What's left? Well, lots actually. The difficulty is separating all the 8s from the 9s and 10s. Let's get going then:

01. Aerial - Black rain from the bombing (Nomethod)
It came out in January and stuck with me throughout the entire year. That alone says something. As for the music, it's an amazing display of epic bombast and twisting riffs. Why can't more post-rock be noisy like this?
MP3: Time is on fire

02. The Book of Daniel - Songs for the Locust King (Black Star Foundation)
A late in the year release so I was reluctant to list it, but there's no denying the quality. Full of wisdom and poetry.
MP3: The camels parade

03. C.Aarmé - Vita (Carcrash/Burning Heart)
The brightest stars always burn out the fastest. RIP.
MP3: We are the world

04. Closer - Tokpela EP (Closersounds)
One of those bands I fell in love with the moment I first heard it. Heavy rock doesn't get better than this.
MP3: Open casket

05. Johndoe - Dødvinkel (JHND)
This one snuck up on me and is probably the one record on this list I've listened to the most.
MP3: Kjøtere

06. Montys Loco - Man overboard (NONS)
God, I hate the genre label 'folktronic', but I really can't think of a better way to describe this. Quirky instrumentation and arrangements aside, the music is simply brilliant and would work in any context.
MP3: Wasteland

07. Namur - Songs from the Valley of Baca (Thehourislate)
It's probably for the best that David Åhlén retired this stage moniker because this will be hard to top. Nothing wrong with quitting while you're ahead.
MP3: Marching

08. Raison d'Être - Metamorphyses (Cold Meat Industry)
I honestly don't believe I've heard another dark-ambient album this good. Ever.
MP3: Metamorphyses phase I

09. Oskar Schönning - Happy jazz, please (Amigo)
Another one of those records that found its way into steady rotation without much thought. Echoes of that other famous bassist/bandleader Charles Mingus along with fellow Swede Jan Johansson, but with an ear to the future.
MP3: Happy jazz, please

10. Sonores - Elefanten (Structures Sonores)
These guys asked me if I wanted to co-release this with them and I said no because I thought I was too busy. I blew it.
MP3: Jonathan

Best two demos I heard all year: Circle Six and Iisole

Four favorite non-Scandinavian releases:
Converge - No heroes (Epitaph)
Kayo Dot - Dowsing anenome with copper tongue (Robotic Empire)
Jesu - Silver (Hydra Head)
Rome - Berlin (Cold Meat Industry)

Two old metal warhorses who prove that age doesn't mean a thing: Iron Maiden & Slayer

What to expect for 2007? Well, my predicted goth revival for 2006 didn't live up to expectations even though it seemed to spawn quite a few excellent releases (The Kid and 1999, for example). Regardless, I'm not going to let that stop me from making more asinine predictions. My pick for the new trend of 2007: industrial/EBM. I swear, it's gonna happen. It's time.

Honorable mentions:
Asha Ali - s/t (NONS)
Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen (Danarkia)
The Fine Arts Showcase - Radiola (Adrian Recordings)
Kazakstan - s/t (Katalyst)
Knife and Ape - Hex! (Deleted Art)
Lampshade - Let's away (Glitterhouse)
Lemonator - At the presence of great beauty (Odor)
Once We Were - Contra (Tenderversion)
Britta Persson - Top quality bones... (Amigo)
Plain Fade - Aure (Punos Sound)
Promoe - White man's burden (Burning Heart)
Tsukimono - Neé (Kalligrammofon)

]]> Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25651-top-10s-for-2006-viktor-sjoberg http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25651-top-10s-for-2006-viktor-sjoberg http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25651-top-10s-for-2006-viktor-sjoberg#comments Five musical moments, 2006

*Listening to the Mr. Suitcase remix of Nicholas Makelberge's "South America" with my friend Daniel in a Las Vegas hotel room. "Europeans are not dangerous" and "we need what's strange to us". It might all be nonsense, but that was a perfect experience.

*Listening to the opening track of Diplo's "Florida" album in cars. First in Toledo, Ohio and a few weeks later in La Jolla, California. It is from now on the sound that equals precious friendship.

*Playing with Alina at På Besök in Malmö, February. A few weeks later, listening to a recording of the show and enjoying the first 8 or 9 minutes tremendously.

*Last minute rehearsals with the V. Sjöberg New Jazz Quartet in a Danish artist studio. I played the boys the rough idea for a cover of R. Kelly's "Happy people" and that got them going. It was so fun and so beautiful that I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

*Hearing Tsukimono play "Speaking about punk rock" a few times during live shows throughout the year and shouting.

Five great releases:

Cuizinier – "Pour Les Filles Vol. 2"

J Dilla – "Donuts"

Jonas Lindgren – "You can come by anytime you want to, I'll be around"

Para One – "Epiphanie"

Tsukimono – "Née"


---------------------------

Viktor is so busy with so many different projects, it's hard to say exactly what he'll do next. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be amazing.
www.structuressonores.com

]]> Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3581 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3581 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3581#comments Tsukimono has a new 6-song EP coming out on the Glitchpunkyouth netlabel: http://yourson-shine.blogspot.com/2006/11/imagine-composer.html]]> Wed, 22 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27869-mp3-plain-fade-siikamo-pikkusiikamo http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27869-mp3-plain-fade-siikamo-pikkusiikamo http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27869-mp3-plain-fade-siikamo-pikkusiikamo#comments It's new release day here at It's a trap! I quietly added Tsukimono's excellent debut album "Née" to the webstore last week and today am happy to offer up new releases from Consequences, Once We Were and Plain Fade. The first two are preorder only right now (but in-stock, so all purchases will arrive on or before the actual day of release) and I'll be talking more about them later, so let's concentrate on the latter. Plain Fade has been one of my favorite Finnish acts ever since I first heard a demo track a few years ago. Their debut album "Lies, sanctions and cruise missiles" upped the ante even further, cementing them in my mind as one of best, most inventive post-rock acts of our time. Getting a track from them for "Reader's companion volume two" was a no-brainer. It simply had to be done. However, if you heard their contribution "Itä-Aure" you'd already know that the band has moved way far beyond what they were doing before. The band's new album "Aure" is largely improvisational and sounds totally unlike anything/anyone else. From slow-burning atmospheric pieces to loud outbursts of noise and even operatic singing, "Aure" runs through an impressive amount of sonic territory in its 40-minute runtime. One of 2006's best releases? Do you have to ask?]]> Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3942 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3942 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3942#comments Komplott has a new EP from Swedish experimental artist Tsukimono for free download: http://www.komplott.com/catalogue/tsukimono_-_etudes.php
The work is entitled "Études" and consists of "five short selections cut out from longer recordings made in Malmö during the summer of '06."]]> Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27920-mp3-tsukimono-gathering-heavy-breathing http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27920-mp3-tsukimono-gathering-heavy-breathing http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27920-mp3-tsukimono-gathering-heavy-breathing#comments Tsukimono's new album "Née" is the perfect release for Kalligrammofon to follow up Viktor Sjöberg's "On a winter's day". Both artists utilize guitars and found-sound as the main source for their art, but what they do with it is totally different. Viktor tends towards the quiet and complative and yes, even romantic (as Kevin points out in his review) while Tsukimono (aka Johan Gustavsson) is often far more frenetic and noisy. This particular piece that I've posted today reminds me a bit of Alog with its steady melodic rhythm. Processed guitar tones chime, twist and turn until the rains come in and their true nature is revealed. It's a beautiful transition that perfect captures the summer day that inspired it.]]> Mon, 04 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5400 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5400 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5400#comments Tsukimono will soon have a release on the 3" CDR label Müssiggänger. It will be called "Études" and has been described to me as "invisible music" featuring "highpitched ghosts and sounddust." Also on the way from Tsukimono is an album entitled "Née" to be released soon on Kalligrammofon and another full-length entitled "Time canvas" to be released via Swedish avant label Kning Disc in the fall. Listen to a sample of the former here: http://www.myspace.com/tsukimonoswe
Lastly, Tsukimono will also be doing a prepared guitar-duet record with Mattias Nihlén from Testbild!. I'm not sure when/where that one will be released, but I'll keep you posted.]]> Mon, 19 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6223 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6223 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6223#comments Tsukimono, the solo project of Johan Gustavsson from Scraps of Tape, will have his "What note, who's note" EP reissed on Ukraine label Arterija as part of their colour series. The disc was originally released as a limited CDR on HEYYOUFUCKINGMAN! and this new version of the disc will feature all new artwork and an additional bonus track called "Svartare av kärlek". In other news, Johan's other project Conduo Orchestra (feat. Kristofer from Ljudbilden & Piloten) will contribute the track "Cicada" to a book/compilation entitled "Hockey rawk" being curated by Swedish artists Peter Larsson and Lars Nilsson. Other artists on the comp will include Testbild!, Vldgmn, Bare Knees, Nim, Cake On Cake and more.]]> Tue, 11 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6606 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6606 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6606#comments The latest edition of Famous for 15mb is now online: http://www.famousfor15mb.com/
Scandinavian artists featured this month include Det Svenska Folket (NOR), Tsukimono (SWE), Martin Skauen (NOR) and Viktor Sjöberg (SWE).]]> Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8454 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8454 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8454#comments Download a new one-track EP from It DOES Matter, a new drone-pop collaboration between Johan Gustavsson (Tsukimono, Scraps of Tape) and Jonas Lindgren (Dead+Hurt): http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collection=opensource_audio&collectionid=it_does_matter-i_used_to_hear_you_laugh_through_this_wall]]> Mon, 31 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26496-various-artists-rojo-tachan-nosordo-aa-nosordo http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26496-various-artists-rojo-tachan-nosordo-aa-nosordo http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26496-various-artists-rojo-tachan-nosordo-aa-nosordo#comments Conduo Orchestra, Tsukimono, Henrik Rylander, The Idealist and possibly more each give fitting and diverse performances. Definitely an interesting listen.]]> Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10888 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10888 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10888#comments Lady Godiva Operations will release the new "Gotta sing, gotta dance" EP from electronic artist Tsukimono sometime this summer. After that, look for new albums from Dialog Cet and Viktor Sjöberg in early fall.]]> Wed, 20 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12506 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12506 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12506#comments Lady Godiva Operations will release a new EP from Tsukimono called "Kill Your Television" this coming January. Tsukimono is the solo alias of Swedish artist Johan Gustavsson, also in Scraps of Tape and Broken Concrete. The disc will contain five tracks "ranging from guitar improvisition to neoclassical composing and glitchmetal" and a full-length is already in the works for later in the year.]]> Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0800 news